For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. ---Ephesians 6:12

"The age of casual Catholicism is over; the age of heroic Catholicism has begun. We can no longer be Catholics by accident, but instead must be Catholics by CONVICTION." ---Fr. Terrence Henry TOR, Franciscan University of Steubenville

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

(enjoy the Spanish music and please accept my apologies for no subtitles)

On December 8, 1982 Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia with no arms or legs, but only a small, two-toed foot growing out of his left thigh. Although there was no known medical reason for this occurrence, he resembled the Thalidomide babies from the early 1960's.

According to his testimony the midwives hid him from his mother when he was born, to spare her the shock of his deformity; while his father, having seen the newborn, had to run outside and purge. It was a shock to everyone, but they made the best of it with what they had available school-wise. Although Nick suffered at the hands of his peers and experienced great depression throughout his childhood, he was able to overcome his disability and emotional distraught through the Grace of God. He then founded Life Without Limbs, an organization dedicated to inspiring others not only to face life, but to achieve life's greater purpose. Currently he travels abroad working as a motivational and Christian inspirational speaker.

2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My Grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

What a shame it would've been had his parents looked at a sonogram early in the pregnancy and decided to abort the child. While some short-sighted person would have recommended this to spare the hardship of the child and the family in general, we can now clearly see the folly in such a decision which would've denied other limbless people a man of such inspiration.

And with this in mind, how can anyone rationalize having an abortion performed simply because a child would be "unwanted?" I ask, unwanted by whom? Certainly not by God! And the lives of these children are not unwanted by themselves, either. Go to any orphanage and ask a child: Do you wish you had been aborted? The answer you can expect is: Of course not! I wish I had a Mom and Dad who loved me enough to raise me. Adoption is always an option. And if it isn't the next best thing, it sure beats killing babies in the womb.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Yesterday, Mark Steyn came out with one of his best columns so far this year, IMHO. It deals with the three teenagers murdered recently in Newark, NJ by an illegal alien who was already out on bail for a barroom assault and the rape of a 5 year old; but is mainly about the media and politicians' reluctance to deal with the root cause: illegal immigration. Here's an excerpt:

America has a high murder rate: Murdering people is definitely one of the jobs Americans can do. But that's what ties young Malvo to Jose Carranza: He's just another killer let loose in this country to kill Americans by the bureaucracy's boundless sensitivity toward the "undocumented." Will the Newark murders change anything? Will there be an Ioefemi Hightower Act of Congress like the Matthew Shepard Act passed by the House of Representatives? No. Three thousand people died Sept. 11, 2001, in an act of murder facilitated by the illegal-immigration support structures in this country, and, if that didn't rouse Americans to action, another trio of victims seems unlikely to tip the scales.

Originally when I created this blog, my intention was to give equal time to the political and religious matters that seem relevant today. Unfortunately the political has grossly outweighed the religious (or spiritual) here due to my recent focus on news rather than scripture.

In an attempt to equal the balance I have included part of a Sunday church service I heard on some radio station while driving on some highway last year. I wish I could give the person who first delivered this the credit he deserves. It isn't transcribed word for word, but instead is put together by me from memory after listening to it while simultaneously driving a big rig. Hope you find it coherent and enlightening.

One day a man walks into a pet store to purchase a bird. He sees a few from which to choose. One is very talkative and another sings a lot, but both are very expensive. Then he finds one on sale who's just sitting there on his perch quietly, doing nothing...

SALESMAN: Oh, he's quite a good talker. He talks all day and night if you let him. Just buy him some toys to play with and he'll keep you entertained.

CUSTOMER: Hmmm. Well, the price is right. Sure, why not?

So the customer takes his new pet bird home and puts him near the window, ties a bell to the top of the cage for him to ring, and waits. The bird rings the bell a few times and then just sits there.

The next day the customer goes back to the pet shop...

CUSTOMER: (to salesman) I bought a bell for the bird to ring and he just sits there.

SALESMAN: Oh, well then...here (handing customer another toy). Try this ladder. They just love running up and down ladders.

CUSTOMER: Okay.

So the customer takes the ladder home, puts it in the cage and waits. The bird runs up and down the ladder, rings the bell, and then just sits there.

The customer returns to the pet store again and again buying several toys to get his bird to talk. Finally the bird rings the bell, runs up and down the ladder, looks in his little mirror, spars with the little punching bag, runs on the hamster wheel for a while, dashes through his little tube maze, and then falls over on his back. And in his last dying breath says:

BIRD: Doesn't that pet store sell any birdseed?

The moral of the story is this:

Too many churches today rely too much on activities and entertainment rather than feeding God's Word to its people.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Five minutes of Fred Thompson's impromptu speech at the Iowa State Fair.

Sure sounds like he's running. In fact he stated to a woman who said she was "in limbo" on whether or not to support him: "We'll be in your face so much you'll be sick of us."

And he looks like he's running. He appears to have slimmed down to a healthy "fighting weight" like he's ready for a race or something. And he has greatly improved his impromptu speaking skills--I see no note cards, prepared text, or teleprompters, and yet he speaks on important issues so comfortably.

Yes, he's running. And he's likely to run past the others all the way to the White House.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

In The WSJ yesterday there was an article written by an ex-KJB hand from Romania (actually it's Lieutenant General Pacepa, the highest ranking intelligence official to defect from the Eastern bloc) with some insight about today's propaganda against the U.S.. He sees a redux of old Soviet methods (some of which worked well) being used to build anti-American support today by attacking our leaders. Here is an excerpt:

Unfortunately, partisans today have taken a page from the old Soviet playbook. At the 2004 Democratic National Convention, for example, Bush critics continued our mud-slinging at America's commander in chief. One speaker, Martin O'Malley, now governor of Maryland, had earlier in the summer stated he was more worried about the actions of the Bush administration than about alQaeda. On another occasion, retired four-star general Wesley Clark gave Michael Moore a platform to denounce the American commander in chief as a "deserter." And visitors to the national chairman of the Democratic Party had to step across a doormat depicting the American president surrounded by the words, "Give Bush the Boot."

This is a video of lions making what would otherwise have been an easy kill. But then an alligator joins the fight, and when that ends the buffalo return to rescue their own.

I have never seen this kind of behavior in a nature video where the prey take the day. It is truly amazing. It's a little long so be patient. And then tell me if you can see the political or religious significance in this? I sure can!

Now if only a continent of water buffalo, namely Europe or even North America, would learn from this...

Matt K Cassens

(not my photo)

Click on picture above for information about the author.

Also, I want to add that not everyone I link to below marches lock-step with me on every issue. But I link to them nonetheless because I think they are righteous. They have taken sides in their respective battles, political and/or religious, and have chosen wisely. May you do the same.

Followers

The middle east media research institute

Stop Islamization of america

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